Women's hair looks at its best at the age of 29

28 JUNE 2013

A woman’s hair looks its best when she reaches the age of 29, according to new research published this week.

Researchers polled 2,000 women in a detailed study of hair habits and found that once a female reaches her late twenties, she has more disposable income to spend on hair care and has ditched the experimental phase of her teens.

Celebrity examples that serve to prove this are Kate Middleton, 31, who over the past few years have become known for her stunning mane, Kim Kardashian, 32, Cheryl Cole, 29 and Freida Pinto, 29.

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The study, commissioned to coincide with the launch of Kérastase Densifique, a new luxury haircare treatment, found that a third of women said they only realised what hair style suited them when they were approaching their thirties.

And 45 per cent admitted that they spent much of their twenties damaging their hair through styling and heat damage.

The research also found 51 percent of women admitted to experimenting with their hair a lot when they were younger with more than half adopting styles such as a sleek bob, a shaggy perm and a sleek and straight look. More than a quarter also sported the layered ‘Rachel’ cut made famous by the Friends’ character in the late nineties. A brave 36 percent even pulled off a pixie crop in their younger years.

On average the typical British woman will have had seven different styles to date and will have been four different colours.

Kérastase Ambassador Luke Hersheson of Hersheson’s said, "As we enter our late teens and twenties, most women have yet to find their signature style. They are happy to try different colours, experiment with different lengths and use various tools like tongs, rollers and hair straighteners to achieve a certain look.

"Certain hairstyles come and go in fashion like any other trend and it’s only natural that women try and replicate the latest look. Having said that, constantly changing styles and hair colour can take its toll and as we age our hair density and condition can be affected."

Seventy percent of women want more voluminous hair: nearly half of the women that took part in the study said they spend more money on their hair as they have got older – 70 per cent of those said they needed to look after it more the older they got due to loss of density and wanting more voluminous hair.

Nearly half of all women who took part in the research (44 percent) said one of the worst aspects of aging was hair thinning and losing its vitality.

Although women feared going grey, 18 percent said the overall density of their hair was their biggest concern.

Hairdresser and Kérastase Ambassador Luke Hersheson added, "I frequently get asked questions about hair thinning and what’s the best way to treat it. Many women are really worried about the loss of their hair, the loss of volume, and the fact that they don’t have as luscious locks as they did when they were in their early twenties.

"Stress, diet, hormones and pregnancy are all factors that can affect the health of the hair and scalp.

"With the introduction of Kérastase Densifique, this new treatment is set to help alleviate this problem. It has an instant densifying action on the hair fiber, boosting the number of hairs on our head and the quality of these new hairs directly at scalp level. It’s set to be the holy grail for a lot of women – and men."